Does fretboard radius matter to you ?

[rdjones]

I've got examples of the most popular radii: 7.25, 9.5, 12 and 14.
Also, I have at least three different scale lengths.

"Variety is the spice of life" as they say, and I enjoy having the choices available.
FWIW, I've settled into my favourite Strat with 9.5" and '65 C shape.

It's all about mood and feel for me.
Different neck geometry will just put me into a new frame of playing for varying style and approach.

 

[AAT65]

TL;DR -- I tell myself I prefer 9.5" to 10", but it's far from clear that is really what makes the difference.

I have 4 electrics, all with different fretboard radii: 9.5" (AO Jazzmaster), 10" (SE245), 12" (Shergold Masquerader) and compound 9.5 to 14(?)" (Elite Tele). When I got the Masquerader I knew it was 12" but at the time I thought the SE245 was also 12", and I was surprised that the Shergold just doesn't feel quite as comfortable - barre chords are a wee bit more work etc. So when I realised that the SE245 was actually 10" I thought well, that's the difference, I'd better stick to 9.5" to 10". But of course there could be a ton of other factors coming into it!
I was concerned about the Tele's fancy compound radius on paper but in fact from the moment I first played it I forgot about it and have never worried since. It is a beautifully designed neck, with the profile changing as the board flattens so it's comfortable from one end of the neck to the other. I do notice that it never chokes out, but the JM sometimes does (partly because its saddles like to sink..! A Mustang bridge is on standby to be fitted soon), and the JM is slightly trickier to play bottleneck on. But man is it comfortable to play, especially up to say fret 15.

 

[That Cal Webway]

Yes.

Radcal single and multi string bender.

Sure, i can bend on 7.25" radius. But the action is too high for my needs there:
A flatter radius allows smoother transitions to playing all over the neck, chords, triads, single lines etc. And playing more in tune!

 

[802dap7777]

My elder statesman left hand has been trying to get used to 7.25" on my (new to me) MIJ. So far it's been difficult and I usually end up muting or buzzing the high E on any bar chord. While I don't want to invest in a new neck with a flatter radius, but it may become necessary. I'll give it a year, God willing. Maybe if I had started with a 7.25" as a kid . . .

 

[Kandinskyesque]

I'm a thumb over the top player and mainly chords.
My right hand only ever uses a pick for acoustic slumming or funk on the electric.
I became aware of fretboard radii in the mid 80s after a misguided purchase of a Washburn pointy headed Strat thing with their Wonderbar trem system (an absolute sustain killer).
This guitar had the flattest fretboard I'd ever played and I hated it.
I prefer a skinny narrow fretboard with either a 7.25" or a 9.5".

I love the 7.25" on my Tele 72 Custom RI but I'm looking for a skinnier neck for it, more along the lines of my 80's Ibanez Roadstar II guitars.
I also prefer bound fretboards, so I reckon I will need to find somebody who makes necks in the UK to put one together for me.

 

[Wound_Up]

I have four Telecasters and each one has a different fretboard radius.
Fender FMT HH is 15.75 in. ,
Fender Player Plus 12 in. ,
Squire CVC 9.5 In and
Eart is compound U to C - 7.25 to 9.5 in.
I prefer the 9.5 Squire neck but the Eart neck is fun to play also.
Does radius or neck shape matter to you?

Doesnt matter to me. Mine go from 7.25 on my Silvertones, IIRC, to 13.75 inches on my gold top and it doesn't change how I play one bit.

 

[Tele-friend]

Fretboard radius doesnt really mean a lot to me as long as the guitar is set up well.

 

[Sparky2]

Does radius or neck shape matter to you?

No.

 

[Si G X]

It matters in the sense that if I could choose I would have a preference, but if I can't choose it's not a deal breaker.... it's nowhere near as important as what's going on round the back of the neck. (or other parts of the guitar for that matter)

.... actually thinking about it, it's almost in the 'doesn't matter' category for me, it's low on my list of priorities.

 

[bgmacaw]

I prefer a flatter radius, generally between 12" to 15", although it's not necessarily a deal breaker. Neck shape and feel is more important to me.

 

[jvin248]

.

If you search old forum posts prior to PRS/Mayer/SilverSkyStrat you will find many many instances of players hating 7.25in radius fretboards and going so far on old vintage guitars to do any number of modifications that were permanent or somewhat reversible: pull frets and reshape fretboard to 9.5 then refret, carefully flatten frets into 9.5 radius while leveling/crowning frets from say a refret they were doing anyway and that could be refretted again back to original, or swapping necks.

The old complaints were about notes choking out while bending. Salespeople tend to gloss over that potential issue, citing 'if you are a good player you will have no problems'. You're a good player, right? Then no problems ...

So much marketing appeared after the PRS product marketing program that players have become curious about the tighter radius. 'Perhaps I need one!' Because of this 'fashionable marketing' project, in a few years players will largely return to hating the tiny radius just like you don't hear much about 7/8/9 string guitars, the fading of Baritone guitars currently, while fanned frets have slipped away, and fretless guitars long ago already fulfilled players' curiosity.

So the risk will be if you bought a 7.25in radius necked guitar, will buyers want it in five years when you are ready to sell it to get the next new thing? The fad may be over.

There is a big change from 7.25in to 9.5in but the change from 9.5in to 12in is barely noticeable. Get a pencil and string to lay out on paper how similar the radii actually are over the width of a typical fretboard at the first fret.

.

 

[Nick Fanis]

No,it doesn't matter, the differences are insignificant anyway.
A well set up guitar will play great no matter what the radius is anyhow.

 

[sk25]

Does not matter in the least, not to me. It's way down there around "Is this vintage-accurate?" or cloth-covered wire.

Let me put it like this: Whether it says Zeny or Glarry on the headstock is more important to me than the neck radius.

Yes, the relative quality levels between different brands of $100 guitars is more important to me than neck radius.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

No

 

[Cyberi4n]

9.5 on my tele and strat, 12 on my LP. I honestly think I prefer the 12, so am gassing for a 12 neck for the telecaster. But I have other things to spend my money on atm so it's not high up my list. Wont go less than 9.5, and I find anything more than 12 seems a little to flat for chord work, and after a while my hands hurt.

 

[Bruxist]

I am not sure I notice most of the time.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

It probably should make a difference to me and it might, but I just don’t know it since I haven’t directly compared them. Some are easier to play than others, but I don’t know if the radius had anything to do with that.

I don’t even know what the radius (radii?) of my guitars is, but I just recently bought some radius gauges and will try and remember to check them all at their next string changes.

I “think” I prefer a tighter radius for chordal work and a flatter radius for single line work, especially bends. I have had occasions where wide bends cause fretting out and forcing higher action that I would like to prevent it.

All that being said, I haven’t really paid that much attention to neck profiles, fret sizes, or radiuses until very recently, so I am really just learning about it myself.

 

[schmee]

Not that much, but no flatter than 14". I hate flat Martins.

What does matter is having a consistent radius in my guitars as much as possible. I find my picking inaccurate when I swap out guitars with a major difference in string radius.
It's amazing how a tiny difference in string arc can cause inaccuracies in your picking... or mine anyway.

 

[String Tree]

I have four Telecasters and each one has a different fretboard radius.
Fender FMT HH is 15.75 in. ,
Fender Player Plus 12 in. ,
Squire CVC 9.5 In and
Eart is compound U to C - 7.25 to 9.5 in.
I prefer the 9.5 Squire neck but the Eart neck is fun to play also.
Does radius or neck shape matter to you?

I prefer a flatter Radius all of my guitars.

 

[Chester P Squier]

I never gave it much thought until I purchased a Fender Player Strat with a 9.5" radius neck. I can barre chords like I never could before.